“Mel did an extraordinary thing – he taught us all how to make comedy natural. He was a brilliant theatre director… Not only was he a great actor, he was a wonderful editor.”

The production company founded by Smith and Griff Rhys Jones went on to make a number of iconic comedies, among them Da Ali G Show, I’m Alan Partrdige and Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

“What that did is produce a gigantic raft of new material,” Mr Lloyd said. “That, I think, is a contribution that will never go away.”

The pair sold the company for £62m in 2000.

Their business partner and agent at Talkback, ITV director of television Peter Fincham, said Smith had “extraordinary natural talent”.

“Life was always exciting around Mel,” he said. “Being funny came naturally to him, so much so that he never seemed to give it a second thought. Mel and Griff were one of the great comedy acts and it’s hard to imagine that one of them is no longer with us.”

What are your memories of Mel Smith? Did you meet him or work with him?